Pee pad training 2 yorkies at once-Help!!!!

[Haya]

So I have two yorkies, both 6 months old, male and female. They are from the same litter as well. I have a 4x4 play pen where I keep their food, pee pads, and beds. Sometimes they will use the pee pads but generally speaking they will go everywhere BUT the pee pad. I live in an upper apartment so I am strictly pee pad training them. I live alone and work 4 days a week where they are left unsupervised for about 8 hours. I feel bad confining them to the play pen for that long and I do not want them to disturb the neighbors by barking.

It’s just getting to be too much- I need to know HOW I can get them to consistently use the pad. Looking for advice from others who have been there and who can understand the situation. Thanks!

[Rachael1983]

Hey There!

I'm originally from Detroit so I know how brutal those Michigan winters can be! I can understand why you want them to use the potty pads. I myself don't use them anymore because I found that my floors were becoming a mess because they didn't always use the pads. I switched to crate training for that very reason.

I do think that crate training w/pads could work. Here's a sample schedule

Sleep in Crate
6am Wake up, let out and potty on pad
615-645: You're getting dressed for work, while they play/eat in the expen
645: Take to potty pad, praise when they've done what you want
7: You're off to work, back in the crate for them
If you can come home at lunch or have a walker pop by at 11:30,
1130: let out crate, potty time a bit of play
11:45 back into the crate and you're back to work
5:30: back home, out the crate, potty to the pad w/praise
530-6 play time for them
6 they are taken to the pad for potty time, praise
6-7 play time in ex pen if you like wind down
7 potty time again, praise
7:30 withold H20 for the night, last potty time, back in crate
(if you are up a bit later you can have them out but to a limited area and you'll have to keep a watchful eye on them when they start to sniff around)
9pm out the crate to the pad, praise when potty and back in crate for the night.

You can treat them everytime they go in and out the crate. Positive reinforcement will help you. Your consistency will be their consistency.

[canana]

I did exactly the same as Rachael1983 with crate training. It worked really really well for my Scottie. He's 100% outdoor potty trained now (with the exception of if he gets sick...).

I thought with my experience in crate training, it'd be a breeze when I got Casie who is 1 pound smaller. It took me a while (and a lot of hair pulling frustration) before I caved and accepted the fact that she just could not be crate trained. She would soil herself in the crate even when she had a mid-day potty break. It was a nightmare. So I gave in and let her use potty pads during the day when I was at work. I was worried that it might mess up Scottie...but surprisingly it didn't. He'd sniff her pad, but he never had accidents anywhere indoors.

Anyway...because your pups are only 6 months old, if you want to continue potty pad training them, may I suggest that you keep them in the play pen while you're away? You don't need to feel bad for them. They're ok in there. It's a lot more space than a crate and they really don't need that much more space than the 4x4. In the play pen, lay out the potty pads everywhere, covering the entire 4x4. After a couple weeks, you might start to notice an area where they don't potty - remove that pad. Then after a couple weeks, check that they continue to not soil in that spot and take notice of whether there's another pad where they don't potty and remove that one. Then before you know it, there'll be one pad of preference for pottying on. It might sound easier than it is, but give it a shot. Potty training requires a lot of patience and persistence...but you'll get there eventually!

[LaVcaM]

This is how I pad-trained my chihuahua and now my Yorkie. After they went potty, I wiped the pee/poo spot with the training pad and put it down by the outside door. They both got the hint and went on the pad after that. Soooo EASY! And since they associated the pad with the outside door, I put a pad on the outside right next to the door and from there it was easy to train them to the outside. Of course, I had to out-wait them but they eventually started using the outside whether it was on the grass or cement. Now they use both and it's nice for living in N CA where we get all kinds of bad weather in winter. Good luck! Did I mention my chi is Over the Rainbow Bridge and my Yorkie is 8 months old and fully potty trained? Yep! I just realized this will be different for you since you work outside the home. I am retired so it was easy for me.